Rail lines near Cottbus closed after storm damage, with replacement buses running

Several rail lines between Cottbus and Saxony remained closed after Friday’s storm brought trees down onto the tracks, Deutsche Bahn said.

The closures affected the Cottbus-Görlitz and Cottbus-Großenhain routes. Rail service stopped while crews cleared the tracks, and replacement buses were arranged. Passengers were warned to expect substantially longer travel times. The single-track route also already faced a partial closure between Görlitz and Weißwasser because of scheduled construction.

On the Cottbus-Görlitz line, a tree fell onto the tracks near Bagenz on Friday evening. An Odeg railcar had to stop abruptly and was damaged, according to an Odeg employee. No one was injured.

The disruption continued after a replacement articulated bus became stuck while reversing on a forest road near Weißwasser late Friday. The bus could not continue, so a large taxi collected the passengers at about 11 p.m. They reached their destination several hours late. A separate tree fell onto the tracks near Drebkau on the Cottbus-Großenhain line, where clearing work was still under way on Saturday morning. Heavy rain and strong winds had prompted numerous fire service operations in the Brandenburg-Saxony border area.

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The works are still ongoing.